Moderate to high prevalence of spin revealed in abstracts and main texts of medical publications: a systematic review of research-on-research studies
Abstract
Objectives: To assess the prevalence of spin in medical publications across different study designs and disciplines and to identify related factors for spin, through a systematic review of research-on-research studies (RoRSs).
Study design and setting: We searched PubMed, EMBASE, and SCOPUS on May 10, 2021 and updated the searching on March 19, 2025 for RoRSs examining spin in any types of primary studies (eg, randomized controlled trials [RCTs], non-RCTs, systematic reviews [SRs], and observational studies) in any field of medicine. Meta-analyses were used to evaluate the prevalence of spin in titles, abstracts, and main texts and to analyze related factors for spin.
Results: A total of 133 RoRSs were included. For RCTs, the prevalence of spin was 3.2% (96/2250; 95% CI: 1.7% 5.0%) in titles, 59.0% (2206/3762; 95% CI: 51.8% 66.0%) in abstracts, and 64.8% (769/1303; 95% CI: 54.4% 74.7%) in main texts. For SRs, the prevalence was 0.1% (39/4168; 95% CI: 0.0% 0.5%), 49.3% (1582/4431; 95% CI: 41.5% 57.1%), and 54.5% (101/225; 95% CI: 36.4% 72.0%) in titles, abstracts, and main texts, respectively. Presence of spin in RCT abstracts was significantly associated with H-index of first authors (Odds Ratio [OR]: 0.97, 95% CI: 0.94-0.99, P = .01, I2 = 0%), exact P value reported (yes versus no: OR: 0.21, 95% CI: 0.09-0.50, P = .0003, I2 = 0%), number of centers (multicenter vs single-center: OR: 0.40, 95% CI: 0.27-0.59, P = .000005, I2 = 12%), publication year (OR: 1.09, 95% CI:…
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